Motivation and Group Performance

Aristotle once said that “All men by nature desire to know” because we are naturally inquisitive. For some people, what stops them from learning is that they are scared to take the first step. What can you learn to do if only you could overcome your fear? Overcoming restrictive negative mindsets that you have inserted in your mind can improve self esteem and confidence to learn.

As part of our initiative to create fun in the workplace, we set up a Salsa dance club. As HR Director, I felt it would help to generate more interest from team members if I registered for the class. Up to this point, I had never participated in any salsa dance. As we prepared for the first group lesson, I remembered the words of Gerald Weinberg who said that the first step to knowledge is the confession of ignorance. So I told myself I did not know how to dance salsa. Additional motivation was that we paid professional salsa tutors to lead our classes twice a week. If I am paying for it, I need to be focused.

On the first day, we started by watching the professionals dance. They were good as they flowed and swayed effortlessly. This was followed by competence assessment to determine individual skill level. We were then paired with instructors according to our skill level. The instructors started with the basic steps to boost our confidence. Once we picked it up, we moved to the more complicated moves. The more effort we put into the practice sessions, the more fun we had. We were beginning to bridge the gap between not knowing and knowing.

Week after week, we gathered and practiced. Some dropped out but those of us that remained drew strength from each other. Those who had prior exposure to Salsa offered words of encouragement to the newbies. To immerse myself fully into the learning experience, I bought some salsa music cds to listen to in the car and at home. My favourite salsa songs were:

a) Mi Tierra (Gloria Estefan)

b) Cuando Faltas Tu (Puerto Rican Power)

c) La Salsa Vive (Tito Nieves)

d) La Agarro Bajando (Gilberto Santa Rosa)

e) Pena da Amor

For maximum learning experience, we needed the three factors of the Learning Formula: Ability, Motivation and Enabling environment/resources. All three factors were high in our group.

One day we decided to raise the bar. Someone asked if we can have a dance slot at the forthcoming anniversary party of the organisation. Are you serious? A few days later we received confirmation that we got our dance slot at the party. We were motivated to learn and used the theory of Expectations, Motivation, and Learning as our guide. There is a self-fulfilling prophecy statement credited to Henry Ford that “If you believe you can, or if you believe you can’t, then you are right”. If you think you will be successful at learning a new skill, then you will be or otherwise. We intensified our choreography sessions. We had to be synchronized when we step on that stage. We must be an effective team. Under the watchful eyes of the instructors, we danced and danced until we were moving like a well-drilled platoon.

Less than six weeks after we came together as a group and had our first dance class, we performed in front of a crowd of over 800 guests. All dressed in black, we filed out as couples looking hot and sexy like the professional dance troupe I have seen on some salsa dance videos. At the end of our dance performance, we received a resounding applause from the audience.

What factors determined the ability and speed of our learning? We were determined to perform. We recognised that we are at different levels of proficiency and helped each other. We had professional instruction. Above all we were motivated to learn. Research done by James E. Mazur revealed that:

a. Adults can continue to successfully learn new knowledge and skills throughout their lives if they remain healthy. Learning ability generally does not decline with age.

b. Learning is usually most efficient and rapid when the learner is motivated and attentive.

c. People can learn new behaviors more quickly if the behaviors are similar to those they can already perform. This phenomenon is called positive transfer. Someone who has learned to drive one car, for example, will be able to drive other cars, even though the feel and handling of the cars will differ.

d. Psychologists have long known that people differ individually in their level of intelligence, and thus in their ability to learn and understand.

Till date, my favourite salsa songs are:

a) Mi Tierra (Gloria Estefan)

b) Cuando Faltas Tu (Puerto Rican Power)

c) La Salsa Vive (Tito Nieves)

They bring back good memories. Refresh your brain today by learning a new skill.